How we can make it to Brundage so often and stay on budget

I once heard something a couple years ago that has stayed on my mind constantly since: We weren't born to make the rent.

It sounds so obvious but its funny how many of us are miserable just trying to get by. The Dalai Lama was once asked what surprises him the most. He responded: Man, because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then he dies having never really lived.

I don't want to live that way. I don't think anyone willingly does. Jake and I watched this YouTube video today of this guy that lives near Whistler in this tiny shared dorm that costs over a grand a month to rent. The room is only big enough for a trundle bed during the day, a minifridge, toaster oven, and hot pad. They use the bathroom sink for dishes and laundry. He works at a resort restaurant from 4-10 as a cook. I don't assume he makes a lot but its the perfect job for him because he can spend most of the day skiing. He's only a five minute walk away from the chairlift. This guy doesn't have a lot but he's blissfully happy. In a lot of ways he has more than most people have. It seems like a perfect existence to me.

I think about what it will take to have the life that I want and I realize I pretty much already have it. I've got few needs and little wants. But the things I do have mean the world to me. One of those is hitting Brundage as often as possible. McCall is a resort town and stuff can get expensive fast but one of the ways we keep prices low is taking advantage of free hotel breakfasts and loading up on high calorie cheap foods. We don't do it in the valley so its not like its destroying our health. We only spend 20 bucks on food a day, which is a lot for us considering we spend less than 50 a week at home (at natural and organic as we can go). Here are some of the things we get:




Deli, bakery, and last-chance stuff. That cheese? It was a whole bag of babybell's cut into quarters and put in a little tub because it was soon to expire. We used to spend five bucks on a little bag of that stuff at the co-op at home.